The Eagle Grove Eagles football team is back on action on Saturday, as they make the drive north into Winnebago County to take on the Forest City Indians at Forest City High School. The Eagles enter at 0-2 after their 59-6 loss to Southeast Valley last week, while the Indians also enter at 0-2 after their 49-16 loss to Algona. Friday marks the first time these two programs have ever met on the gridiron.
Forest City is off to a slow start to the Tom Clarey era, dropping their first two games, albeit to a pair of 3A teams that could find themselves in the playoffs by season’s end. Junior quarterback Ty Dillavou has had to sling the ball early and often this season, going 34-for-74 for 402 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The Indians only 2 offensive touchdowns this season have come courtesy of running back Sam Klaassen, who’s run for 166 yards as well. Dillavou has seen a number of different receivers as well, senior Jaxon Archer leads the team in receptions with 7, but Ty Spoko is the yards leader with 109 yards off just 3 catches.
Defensively, the heart and soul for the Forest City defense begins and ends with senior linebacker Grant Wooge. Through 2 weeks, Wooge has tallied 21.5 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and an interception, as his play will be tested from a discipline standpoint against the option-heavy Eagle Grove offense. Outside of Wooge, the defense has been a fairly by-committee type of group. The defensive line will need to set the tone to slow down Eagle Grove’s option attack, as the front four is led by juniors Brock Good and Nick Dontje.
Eagle Grove will need to find some semblance of consistency against the Indians if they want to avoid an 0-3 start. Their best weapon so far has been fullback Drake Canavan, who’s run for 221 yards and the Eagles only 2 touchdowns on the season. The Forest City offense has been prone to turnovers to start the season as well, as Eagle Grove has already picked off 3 passes and recovered a fumble in their first 2 games. If the Eagles find a way to convert that into points, Friday could be a good day for the Purple and Gold.
Kickoff is slated for 7 PM at Forest City High School on Friday night.